Explanation:
Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town.
On January 26, people from
Perth,
Australia
gathered on a local beach to
watch a sky light up with delights near and far.
Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of
Australia Day celebrations.
On the far right,
lightning from a
thunderstorm
flashed in the distance.
Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all:
Comet McNaught.
The
photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes.
Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain
visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month.
The
above image
is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce
red reflections from the exploding
firework.